# Urban planning, siting of air pollution sources, and asthma disparities

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2024 · $589,375

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Racial and ethnic minority communities experience poorer outdoor air quality and face greater burdens of lung
disease, particularly from asthma. The close proximity of minority neighborhoods to both fixed and mobile air
pollution sources combined with the disproportionate burden of asthma morbidity among these populations
supports the overarching hypothesis that racial and ethnic disparities in asthma are caused by urban
planning policies that result in exposure to more toxic sources of air pollution (AP). We propose the
following Specific Aims to test this hypothesis: 1) To characterize AP sources, estimate AP concentrations, and
examine their associations with neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics across the State of Texas. 2)
To identify the AP sources that contribute to racial and ethnic childhood asthma disparities. 3) To explore the
effects of zoning and gentrification on the distribution of AP sources across neighborhoods in Travis County.
Evidence supporting this hypothesis would constitute a major advance by (1) identifying AP sources that
contribute directly to childhood lung health disparities and (2) linking urban planning decisions to inequities in
the location of AP sources. The proposed work would fill a critical evidence gap needed to develop new
approaches to AP regulation and urban planning, which would be strongly positioned to meaningfully reduce
lung health health disparities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10769835
- **Project number:** 5R01ES034803-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth C. Matsui
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $589,375
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-01-27 → 2027-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10769835

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10769835, Urban planning, siting of air pollution sources, and asthma disparities (5R01ES034803-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10769835. Licensed CC0.

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